The dairy industry has anxiously awaited a day when calves would pass through a gateway where RFID-enabled readers would record health metrics by individual animal. The technology exists and works to record temperature passively, but according to recent research the temperatures recorded do not yet correlate to traditional rectal temps.
Source: Journal of Dairy Science, August 19, 2020. Link. (Abstract only) Rectal temperature was not significantly correlated with ear, SCAP, neck, or tympanic temperature for the daily and hourly studies. Results suggest that temperature microchips measure temperature appropriately, but temperature is dependent upon the implant site in calves.
. . . temperature measured at ear, SCAP, and neck implant sites cannot be used to estimate rectal temperature”
INSIGHTS: We’re getting closer to the dream of remote monitoring.